


All I Wanna Do Is Grow Old With You

by fortunehasgivenup



Series: And did you know that I'm wild for your skin [15]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: AU, College, Domestic, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Family, Grandchildren, Holidays, Oral Sex, Roleplay, Tattoo AU, Tattoos, Weddings, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:34:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25401697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fortunehasgivenup/pseuds/fortunehasgivenup
Summary: As the kids grow up and start to leave, Beth and Rio adjust to their new normal. The house might get emptier, but their family gets bigger.
Relationships: Beth Boland/Rio
Series: And did you know that I'm wild for your skin [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1377679
Comments: 51
Kudos: 378





	All I Wanna Do Is Grow Old With You

**Author's Note:**

> Lots of time jumps in here!

Beth wiped at her eyes as they dropped the last load of boxes on the floor of Kenny’s dorm room.

“Hey,” Rio caught her and pulled her into his arms, “he’s gonna be fine.”

“He’s my baby,” Beth protested. “And now I’m just supposed to leave him alone?”

Rio chuckled. “Don’t think he’s alone, sweetheart. He’s got three roommates, the RA, and who knows who else.”

She poked him in the belly. “It’s not the same. I’m his mother.”

“I know.” Rio swayed them back and forth a little, catching Kenny’s eye as he came into the room with the last bag. “But that doesn’t change just because he’s living somewhere else.”

Kenny put his bag down and came up behind his mother and wrapped his arms around her too. “Love you, Mom.”

“I love you too,” Beth warbled into his t-shirt.

Kenny patted her on the back. “I’m not even that far away,” he reminded her.

“Promise you’ll call me?” Beth clung to him a little tighter.

“At least once a week,” he promised.

Beth sniffed. “And you’ll eat vegetables on purpose?”

“At least once a week,” he repeated.

Beth laughed.

Driving back home, the back seats empty without Kenny and his stuff. Rio made a stop at a small town diner around lunchtime and coaxed Beth into actually having a meal.

“He’ll be fine, mama,” Rio said, “but he’s not gonna stop needing you.”

“I know,” Beth replied, dipping a french fry in her milkshake and ignoring Rio’s look of disgust as she did. “I’m just wallowing.”

Rio took her free hand in both of his. “So long as you don’t plan on turning the car around and trying to smother him.”

Beth laughed. “I wouldn’t!”

“I think you got pretty close,” Rio teased. “Back before we got onto the freeway, thought you were gonna demand I turn around and go get him.”

She shook her head. “No. He needs to grow up, I get it. Needs space to fail, learn how to fix his mistakes.”

“And if he needs more,” Rio reminded her, kissing the back of her hand, “we figure it out.”

\------------------------

“And then there were four,” Annie said when they got home, meeting them at the door.

Rio started to shake his head, just out of Beth’s line of sight, but it was too late. Beth started to tear up.

“I’m gonna kill you,” he mouthed to Annie as she moved to wrap Beth in a hug.

Annie stuck her tongue out. “I had to ship Ben out again last week,” she said, patting Beth’s back. “It doesn’t get easier.”

“I hate you,” Beth said between quiet sobs.

“But,” Annie went on, “they do call with a lot of ridiculous questions just so that they can hear your voice. That’s nice.”

Beth sniffed a few times, but wiped her cheeks when Emma came into the room.

“Did Kenny’s dorm already stink like teenage boy?” she asked.

Rio snorted. “I don’t think it’s faded from whoever lived there last.”

Emma wrinkled her nose. “Remind me to make sure I’m not in co-ed housing. Boys are disgusting.”

“Yeah, well your sister doesn’t exactly smell like roses after a game,” Rio reminded her, pulling her under his arm.

“Okay, remind me not to live with an athlete then,” Emma said.

“I’m not sure they let you decide that, honey,” Beth told her, moving to the kitchen, only to stop when she saw that the oven was on. “Did you guys make dinner?”

Emma nodded. “Figured it was time to test out Aunt Ruby’s lasagna recipe. Danny helped too.”

Rio let Emma slip out of his arms so that Beth could pull her into a hug.

“Should be ready in about fifteen minutes,” Emma mumbled.

Annie stayed for dinner, shooting Beth suspicious looks every few minutes, like she expected her to start crying at any second, but she made it through dinner without any trouble.

Rio wrapped himself around his wife as she brushed her teeth, feeling her eyes on him in the mirror as he slowly slipped his hand up the hem of her shirt.

She bent over to spit into the sink and rinse her mouth, but didn’t say anything as she washed her face.

“You’re not wearing your ring,” she said.

Rio pulled his hand out to see that she was right, he wasn’t wearing his wedding band.

“Good thing I got this then,” he wiggled his finger and Beth pulled his hand up to her mouth to kiss the thick line of black ink that he’d had Jojo give him back when they first got married and he realized that he couldn’t wear his ring while tattooing.

“Good thing,” she agreed, but Rio was already pulling away, kissing her neck as he did, so that he could go get it. He was pretty sure that he’d taken it off when he was doing the dishes, put it on the slightly ridiculous looking ring catcher that Jane had bought him for Christmas last year.

And there it was, on one of the arms of the cactus, which was smiling and wearing sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt. He plucked it off and slid it onto his finger before heading back upstairs.

Beth had finished with her routine and was in bed with a book.

Rio grinned at the sight of her reading glasses as he stripped to join her.

“Finish the paragraph,” he told her.

Beth lifted one eyebrow until it popped above the frame of her glasses.

“Finish,” he said, already ducking under the blankets to get in between her legs. She gasped, but helped him tug off her pajama bottoms and by the time he was kissing up her thighs, she’d tossed aside her book and shoved the covers off so that she could see him.

Rio laughed into the crease of her thigh.

She went to take her glasses off, but Rio nipped her skin. “Keep ‘em on, mama.”

Beth dropped her hand back onto the bed as he set his tongue against her. He started gentle, just teasing, but slowly escalated the pressure and speed until she was lifting her hips to rub against his face as she came with a quiet moan.

Dragging him back up as he laughed, Beth kissed him as she stripped him of his clothing.

She slowed down a little once his shirt was off and her hands were occupied with tracing over his shoulders.

“Hold up,” Rio murmured, pulling away so that he could get his jeans off without having to struggle too much.

Beth laughed when he miscalculated and started to fall over. “Smooth,” she said. “Very smooth.”

Now naked, Rio grinned at her as he settled between her thighs. “What can I say,” he teased, “gotta keep the excitement alive.’

“Nothing says romance like having to take you to the ER because you broke your nose when you were rushing to get your pants off,” Beth said, stroking his cock in her hand.

He groaned as she led his cock to her cunt and helped him sink in. “Very romantic of you,” he said. “Taking me to the ER.”

Beth wrapped her arms around his back and sighed with pleasure at the feeling of him.

“Would you stay there and hold my hand?” he teased as he pushed his hips deeper. “Help tend my wounds?”

“I don’t think they’d want my help,” Beth replied, lifting her hips to meet his thrust. “But I would nurse you back to health once you came home.”

Rio chuckled, catching her left leg with his hand and pushing it up, changing the angle that he was hitting and making Beth gasp. Even though she’d certainly gained a little more flexibility with barre and yoga, it was a stretch, but a delicious one.

It also sent her hand downwards to rub at her clit, aware that it wouldn’t take much.

They stopped talking after that, content to just be together as they brought each other pleasure.

They didn’t come quite simultaneously, but Beth was only a fraction before Rio and the feeling of his cum spilling into her drew out her orgasm for just a little longer.

Rio’s groan was intensely gratifying and Beth grinned at the ceiling as it turned a little pained as he grew more sensitive.

Beth giggled as he pulled out. He gave her a mock-scowl, then kissed her quiet. He got up to get ready for bed and Beth followed him to the bathroom, needing to clean up.

He smirked at her as he brushed his teeth, but didn’t say anything until they were back in bed, curling up together.

"Love you,” he said, kissing the back of her head and squeezing the arm he had around her waist a little.

Beth patted the hand that was resting on her stomach and mumbled back, “Love you too.”

————————————————

“I have no idea how you did this with Ben and Sara,” Beth said as she took a seat in the Good Girls office. “I keep wanting to call.”

Ruby shook her head. “Don’t do it, Bee.”

“I know!” Beth sighed, grabbing the notes for the schedule out of her bag. “But I want to.”

Annie just looked smug.

“Oh, what’s that look for?” Beth asked.

“Nothing,” Annie said. “Just thinking about how my kid is the best and we text like every day.”

“I text Kenny!” She did! She’d texted him to have a good first day.

Annie shook her head. “No, you text at Kenny. It’s different.”

“How is that different?” Ruby looked at Annie.

“Texting implies conversation, back and forth,” Annie explained. “Texting at means you send messages but it’s very one sided.”

“Huh.” Ruby rolled her eyes. “Sara’s in this phase where she thinks that nothing is our business. Excuse me for wanting to know about your weekend. She messages Harry a lot though, way more than I would have expected. Nothing like moving out to make you get along, is there?”

Beth gave Annie a pointed look.

“I resent that,” Annie said. “Now can we hurry up and figure this stuff out, I’ve got plans.”

“You’ve got plans?” Beth and Ruby said it at the same time, then exchanged glances.

“Explain,” Beth demanded.

“No!” Annie squirmed under their attention. “Finish this up so I can send out the schedules to everyone, then I’ll tell you.”

Beth eyed her sister suspiciously, but set out the upcoming event schedule. They’d been doing this for years and although there had been some slight mishaps over that time, they knew what they were doing and it didn’t take long for them to determine what they needed and when.

“Alright, that’s that,” Ruby said. “Your turn.”

Annie pouted, but neither of them budged. “We’re going to get a cat.” Beth stared at her. “What? Stop looking at me like that!”

“You’re getting a cat,” Ruby said slowly.

“Yes! Tasia wants a cat. I don’t hate the idea,” Annie said.

Beth grinned. “Ben know that you’re replacing him with a cat?”

“Oh shut up,” Annie muttered, throwing a pen at Beth. “Keep being a dick and I won’t let you come over and visit my cat.”

“Uh huh,” Beth teased. To her surprise and delight, Annie and Tasia had wound up settling down together. Neither of them had been big on the idea of wedding, but they’d gone to the courthouse a couple years before and then had a party in Beth’s backyard a few months later, once the weather warmed up. “It’s not like you’re going to send me eighty pictures of it every day, nothing like that.”

Annie didn’t bother denying it.

“Alright, scheduling is done, go get a cat,” Beth said.

Annie got up, taking her notes with her. “I’ll send this out this afternoon. Talk to you later!” With that, she was gone, leaving Beth and Ruby behind.

“A cat?” Ruby sighed. “If it sheds a lot, we’re not going to her place for Housewives anymore.”

Laughing, Beth leaned over to grab her phone as it buzzed on the table. “You know,” she said, “this may have been an elaborate ploy to make sure that she doesn’t have to host anymore.”

“Possible,” Ruby said, “but not probable.”

Opening her messages, she saw one from Kenny. _Thanks. I will._ There was a selfie of Kenny in a classroom attached and it made her smile.

When she raised her head, Ruby was watching her. “Kenny?”

Beth nodded. “When’d they get so big?”

“Certainly wasn’t while we weren’t looking, because we definitely kept our eyes on them,” Ruby said. “But I guess it makes it harder to notice the change. It’s a whole bunch of little ones until your kid’s six feet tall and is talking about girls. Then you just hope that you did a good job with them.”

“You and Stan did a great job with Sara and Harry,” Beth told her.

“You and Rio did a great job with all of yours. With the occasional help from Dean,” Ruby added.

“Don’t forget Cassie and Logan,” Beth went on. “Rio’s mom. Lora and -“

Ruby nudged her. “It takes a village, right? You’re the one who drove to Sara’s school when she was sick and they couldn’t reach me. I’m pretty sure that Rio single handedly prevented Harry from breaking at least two bones in his body last summer.”

Beth sniffed, blinking a few times. “So, how about the dairy shipment?” she changed the subject. Ruby, starting to look a little glassy eyed herself, didn’t protest.

————————————————

Getting back to the house in the early afternoon wasn’t common for Rio. Most days, he tended to be the last one out and the last one back, though he’d moved the bulk of his office work here to the house so he didn’t have to stay quite so late.

There were so many pairs of shoes at the entryway that there was no hope in hell of figuring out which kids were home by looking at them. A third of them probably belonged to Marcus, who had fallen into a sneakers obsession in the last year or so.

Shaking his head at the reminder of Marcus’ recent attempts to convince him that $500 shoes were worth it for a pair of still growing feet, Rio went upstairs to change. He’d make dinner tonight, something that took a bit more time that he didn’t have a chance to make often.

He was walking by Emma’s room, running over the possibilities, when he heard a thump from inside. He frowned.

“Emma?” He knocked on her door right as he heard what sounded like a breathy moan. His eyes widened, but his knock had already served its purpose. There was a shriek from inside, another thump, then footsteps. Emma yanked the door open, cheeks red and braid a little lopsided.

“Rio! You’re home!” she said, looking panicked.

He lifted one eyebrow and waited for her to explain herself. She didn’t, just lowered her eyes to the ground.

“Downstairs in the next two minutes,” he said. “Bring whoever else is in there.”

She opened her mouth, probably to deny that there was anyone else, but he could hear the other person moving around.

He turned around and went downstairs, pulling out his phone to call Beth. Fuck fuck fuck. It kept ringing.

“Hi, you’ve reached -“

He hung up.

Grabbing himself a glass of water, he took a seat at the kitchen table in time to hear footsteps on the stairs. Emma came in, looking a little bit more put together than she had a minute ago, trailed by a girl he’d never met before.

Shit.

Rio had expected Beth to be here - counted on her being here - when this happened.

But she wasn’t picking up her fucking phone and now here he was, sitting at a table sitting across from two teenage girls - one of whom was his stepdaughter.

“I don’t think we’ve met,” Rio started, turning to Emma’s companion.

The girl glanced at Emma, eyes really wide, then back at him. “Umm, I’m Nora. Emma and I have bio together, so we were studying for the midterm.”

Rio had to choke back a chuckle. That’s how they were playing this?

“Maybe,” he said slowly, “it would be a good idea to keep the door open while you study.”

Emma opened her mouth, but he gave her a look before continuing, “That was the rule with Kenny and Diana.” Emma’s cheeks turned even pinker at the reference to Kenny and his high school girlfriend, then she nodded. “You staying for dinner, Nora?”

“Uh, no,” Nora said, looking a little overwhelmed. “I have to babysit tonight.”

Rio nodded. “You have someone picking you up?”

“Yeah, my brother.”

“Alright,” Rio said. “Either study down here or the door stays open. I’ll be in the den.”

With that, he got up and went to the den, fingers twitching to text Beth. But he refrained and dug out his sketchbook to work on a piece for a client that would be coming in soon.

After a while, he heard some farewells and the front door opening and closing. He paused, then went back to drawing to wait for Emma.

“You aren’t going to say anything?”

Rio looked up from his sketch. He had heard Emma come in, but had been letting her bide her time. He set his pencil down. “Like what, Em?”

“Ask me questions about…”

Rio got up from the desk and moved to the couch, patted the spot next to him. Emma took it and he pulled her in against his side. “You tell us on your own time.” Her head fell against his shoulder. “But, if you’re worried how we’ll react, you don’t need to be. Your whole family loves you.”

“I don’t know what I am.”

Rio stroked her hair. “You don’t need to. ‘Sides, you forgetting your aunt? What does she call herself?”

Emma giggled. “A raging bisexual.”

“Yeah. You’ve got options, although I think that you know that.” He patted her head. “Me and your mom are here if you ever want to talk.”

“I know,” Emma said, wrapping her arms around him. “I just -“

Rio leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “It’s okay.”

“You gonna tell Mom?”

Rio straightened up, still stroking Emma’s hair. “I won’t, if you don’t want me to. Or, if you want to tell her, I can be there. It’s up to you.”

“It’s just a lot going on right now with Danny getting ready to move and -“

He tugged on her hair. “Emma, you don’t have to explain anything to me, okay?”

“Okay,” she said, but when Beth got home from work, Emma asked if they could go for a drive. Beth, a little confused and whole lot concerned, left dinner to Rio. They came back a while later with a tub of ice cream for dessert and suspiciously red eyes.

Beth threw herself into his arms after dinner when he was doing the dishes. He smiled down at her. “What’s that for?”

“You know what it’s for,” she said, rubbing her face against his chest. “Thank you for not freaking out or anything.”

Rio dried off his hands on a tea towel before cradling the back of her head. “You seriously think I would have reacted badly?”

“No,” Beth admitted. “But it doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate and love you.”

Rio chuckled. “I appreciate and love you too, sweetheart.”

———————————————

“You need glasses.”

Rio looked up from the paper he was squinting at to see Beth come into the kitchen. “No I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.” She came over and kissed him on the chin. “You’re going to strain your eyes if you keep squinting like that.”

Huffing, he tossed the page aside. She’d taken to wearing reading glasses and seemed to think that he needed them too.

“Which is why you should make an appointment with the optometrist,” she told him. “You can take Danny at the same time. He needs to get his prescription changed, I think. And Marcus is due for a check-up.”

Rio scowled. “My eyes are fine,” he muttered.

Beth giggled and reached up to rub the spot between his eyebrows. “Yeah? Because I think you’re getting old. Next to go is your hearing.”

“What did you say?” he deadpanned. “I couldn’t hear you.”

She rolled her eyes. “You want me to make the appointments?”

Rio sighed, knowing that she was right. “I’ll make them,” he decided. “Jane or Emma need one too?”

Beth shook her head. “No, they’re good for a few more months at least.”

—————————————————————

“Get these ones,” Marcus said, passing him a set of frames. “You’ll look very debonair.”

“You stealing your sister’s romance novels again?” Rio teased, trying them on. They weren’t bad, but the frames were way too big. “Something smaller,” he said to Marcus, passing them back.

“Like these?” Danny passed Rio what could only be described as Harry Potter glasses. He put them on and blinked at the two of them, earning him quiet laughs. “I mean, Mom would still be into it.”

“Yeah, but that’s not saying much,” Marcus said, coming back with another pair.

Rio tried them on. “Alright, these are good.”

“Come on, you haven’t even tried on all the pairs!” Marcus complained.

“Yeah,” Rio agreed, “and I’m not going to.”

Somehow he found himself agreeing to ice cream on the way home, which led to the three of them sitting outside of the Dairy Queen, arguing about baseball. Well, Danny and Marcus were. Rio was just watching them with a slight smile on his face until it was time to go home.

Beth was in the living room, curled up with a magazine. “Verdict?”

Rio sighed. “I need glasses.”

She didn’t say “I told you so,” but she did grin up at him. “You pick some out?”

Rio nodded, joining her. Lying on the couch, he put his head in her lap and shut his eyes. “The boys helped.”

“What do they look like?” she pressed, starting to rub her hand up and down his chest.

“Surprise,” Rio said.

“That’s not fair!” Beth protested.

Rio just smiled.

——————————————

Beth had almost forgotten about the glasses conversation until she came home one afternoon to find Rio sitting in the kitchen, wearing a pair of them while he did a crossword.

“Well, hello handsome.”

Rio looked up as Beth came in through the side door.

“Oh my god,” she said, taking off her shoes before walking over to him, “you look like a sexy professor.” She reached up to touch his glasses frames and adjust them on his nose.

He really did look like a sexy professor. All he needed was a cardigan or blazer with elbow patches, paired with a sweater vest and the image would be complete.

Rio gave her a stern look. “Well, Elizabeth, I’m disappointed in the work that you’ve turned in. I’m going to need you to come to my office for extra help.”

Beth bit her lip. “Oh?” she shivered slightly. “But I’ve been trying so hard.”

Rio grabbed her ass and pulled her in close. “Which is why I’m giving you this chance to make up the grade,” he said. His mouth was still set in a firm line, but his eyes were warm as Beth pulled him down to kiss her.

“I didn’t really know I was into that,” she admitted after they broke apart.

“You and me both,” Rio said, kissing her again and pressing her into the fridge.

She gripped the front of his shirt and moaned into his mouth.

“How about,” she suggested after a moment, “you go put on something a little more…scholarly and I’ll meet you in the office.”

Rio grinned. “You gonna put on something more student-y?”

“I might,” she teased. “But you gotta go first, we share a closet.”

He went upstairs, laughing as he did, leaving Beth to plug in her phone to charge and take a few things out of her purse. Hearing him come back downstairs, she went up to the bedroom.

She didn’t exactly have anything…student like. But she did have a few things that she could combine for a very specific type of look.

The white button-up was easiest to find and it took her a minute to find the blue pencil skirt that Ruby had talked her into buying back in the spring. She stripped quickly, switching into cuter underwear, even though she knew that Rio wasn’t about to complain. She shimmied a pair of stockings on, then the skirt.

The shirt she only buttoned about halfway down, tying the bottom parts of it in a knot.

She ran a brush through her hair and started to do it in pigtails before shaking her hand and undoing them. Instead, she threw it up in a messy bun before applying lipstick and grabbing her most impractical set of heels.

She felt a little giddy as she walked back downstairs, doing her best not to bite her lips and smudge her lipstick.

The office door was slightly open, so Beth knocked on it.

“Come in,” Rio called out and Beth stepped in. “Close the door behind you.”

She did that before turning to look at Rio and had to fight a grin at the sight of him in a grey button-up with a black tie, paired with a red cardigan that she’d knit him. Combined with the glasses, it did make him look a little bit more dignified. Or something like that.

“Go through all the trouble of requesting this meeting and you don’t even bring your paper with you?” he asked, leaning back in his chair to look Beth up and down.

“It had so many things crossed out on it, I thought it was better to start again,” Beth replied, walking to the chair on the opposite side of the desk from him and taking a seat, crossing her legs. “Clearly I wasn’t giving you what you wanted.”

Rio sucked on his lower lip. “What do you think I want?”

“I have no idea, professor.”

Beth leans forward slightly, giving him a view down her shirt.

“Seems to me like you’re trying to get me to do something for you,” Rio said. “That could get me in a lot of trouble, Elizabeth.”

“Oh?” Beth uncrossed her legs and slid to the edge of her seat. “I’d make it worth your while.”

“I’m sure you would,” he replied, finally smiling, the lines around his eyes crinkling.

Beth got up again, moving around to Rio’s side of the desk, but before she could go down on her knees, his hands on her hips directed her to sit on the desk.

“Pull up your skirt,” he said, letting go of her.

She rolled her eyes and undid the zipper, pushing it down. When he opened his mouth, probably to protest, she told him sternly, “I’m not ripping my skirt.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rio agreed, tugging down the waistband of her stockings too, taking her shoes off long enough to get her feet free, then putting them back on. Then his hands were directing her knees apart.

“Keep ‘em there,” he said. “You’ll probably want to lie back.”

Beth curled her fingers around the edge of the desk.

“Suit yourself,” Rio said, tugging her panties aside and immediately burying his face in her cunt.

“Oh fuck!” Beth shouted.

Rio groaned as he lapped at her. She started to lower her knees, but he made a noise in warning and she lifted them both back up onto the desk. He was playing dirty, pressing his thumb in alongside his tongue, fucking her with both of them before slipping his tongue out to tease her clit.

“I don’t think that’s how this is supposed to go,” she said even as she wrapped her hand around the back of his neck.

She felt him laugh more than she heard it.

He didn’t let up, encouraging her to rub herself against his face until she shoved his head away.

“Want you,” she said.

Rio didn’t argue, just stood up and started to undo his pants.

Beth lay back on the desk, but her hands moved to his tie, pulling his face down to hers as he pushed into her. At one point, he huffed and pulled away, adjusting his glasses with a scowl.

“They’re weird!” he said when Beth laughed.

“Uh huh,” she replied, wrapping her legs a little more tightly around him.

“Fuck, you’re perfect,” he muttered, grabbing onto her hips and holding her in place.

When Beth came, she did it digging her heels into Rio’s ass and gasping.

Rio followed not long after. He pulled out a little too soon, making Beth hiss, but he collapsed back into the desk chair with a sigh.

She pushed herself up onto her elbows and laughed at the image that he made.

“What?” He slit one eye open.

His glasses sitting on his nose and the still mostly neat cardigan were at odds with the rumpled tie and the neck of his shirt, the fact that his pants were down around his thighs and his dick was out.

“You look -“

Both of his eyes opened. “I look what, Elizabeth?” He grinned.

“C’mere,” Beth demanded, pushing herself all the way up and leaning towards him so that she could kiss him. “You look perfect.”

“Do I?” He shook his head. “I’m thinking I probably look like a mess. And as much as I’d like to tease that answer out of you, the kids are gonna be home soon.”

She had completely forgotten. She glanced at the clock and gasped. “Rio! They’ll get home at any minute! Where’s my skirt?”

She managed to make it upstairs to shower before the kids got home, but when she came downstairs to find that Rio was still wearing his clothes from earlier, now neatened up, as Jane tried on his glasses, she choked.

Rio met her eyes and gave her a wicked smile.

———————————————

Danny patted Beth awkwardly on the back. “I’m gonna be fine, Mom.”

Rio wasn’t sure that it was the right thing to say, although he thought that there might not be a right thing to say. Beth was going to cry no matter what. And Danny moving to Massachusetts was a lot for everyone.

“If you need us,” Beth told him when she pulled away, “you just call. I’ll be on a plane in the hour.”

Danny just shook his head. He had taken after Dean in his height and was a couple inches taller than Kenny now, so he towered over Beth. “Mom,” he set his hands on her shoulders, “I’m not a complete dipshit. I can take care of myself.”

Rio wanted to groan into his hand.

“And,” Danny went on, “I know that if I ever think that I can’t, all I gotta do is talk to you and then I know that I can because you taught me how to.”

He breathed a sigh of relief.

———————————————

“Second one’s not any easier,” Beth told Ruby, passing her a bowl of popcorn.

“Don’t tell me that!” Ruby protested.

Annie came into the living room with her own bowl and a glass of wine. “Yeah, but Danny’s out of state. It’s different. Maybe Harry’ll live at home while he’s in school.”

Ruby paused. “That might be worse.”

They laughed as Beth turned the volume up.

———————————————

Emma had, to Rio and Beth’s surprise, announced her intention to become a nurse.

“I want to help people,” she said, “and I think I’d be good at it.”

“You would,” Rio told her right away. She was calm, collected, smart as hell. “But you talked a lot about going into English Lit, honey.” He stroked Beth’s back. “Just wondering when that changed.”

For all that Emma had her father’s dark hair, she had Beth’s facial features and Rio recognized that unsure look.

“I love that stuff,” Emma said. “I really do. But I think that I want writing and everything to be a hobby. At least for now. Besides, I’ll have humanities requirements to fulfill.”

Beth reached out to take her daughter’s hand across the table. “You’re going to be amazing at whatever you do,” she assured her. “And we’re all going to support you and be proud of you no matter what.”

“Even if I drop out?” Emma joked, although she looked a little unsure as she said it.

“Even then,” Beth said, getting up to go hug Emma. Rio rubbed the bridge of his nose before following. He kissed the top of Emma’s head, getting a whiff of the overpriced shampoo that she’d started buying a couple of months ago after a shopping trip with Annie.

“Guess it’s a good thing you’re used to blood, huh?” Rio said later. Of all the kids, she’d maintained the most interest in his work. He’d let her sit in on a few sessions - when he was the artist and when he was the canvas.

She smiled up at him. “That’s kind of what got me thinking about it,” she admitted. “And then -“ she hesitated. “When I drove Marcus to Cassie’s a couple weeks ago, I asked her about it.”

“Yeah?” Rio started to slice bread to have with dinner.

“She said it’s exhausting, but it can be rewarding.”

“You’re gonna be great,” Rio told her with a smile. “You’re too smart and too stubborn not to be.”

She laughed, tucking her hair behind her ear.

——————————————

“Emma’s freaking out about her midterms,” Beth sighed, rubbing her temples. “What the hell do I do?”

Ruby hummed. “The boys didn’t do that?”

“Not as much,” she replied, sitting up. “Or at least, they didn’t get so worked up. I’m worried about her.”

“Worried enough to ask her if she wants a visitor?” Ruby suggested.

Beth put her head down on the desk and cushioned it on her arms. “I don’t want to be overbearing,” she mumbled.

“You can offer,” Ruby said. “Maybe she just doesn’t know how to ask.”

It stayed on Beth’s mind for the rest of the day until she was getting ready to leave their supplier’s warehouse. She checked the clock. Emma’s last class on Wednesdays ended at 3 and it was 4:30 now.

Beth grabbed her phone.

“Mom?” Emma said as soon as she answered.

“Hi honey,” Beth replied. “Just…checking in.”

“Oh.” Emma was quiet for a minute.

“You okay?”

Emma made a noise.

“You know that if you want, I can come visit for a couple of days, take you out to lunch. Maybe get you a new pair of boots for the winter,” Beth offered. “Or put your sister on a bus.”

“I’m okay, Mom,” Emma said. “Really. I’m stressed and I have no idea how anyone passes any of these classes, let alone all of them, but I found a couple of people to study with. I’m actually on my way to the library now.”

“Oh, I’ll let you go,” Beth hurried to let her go.

“No!” Emma said. “It’s a ten minute walk. I can talk and walk at the same time. It’s,” she paused, “nice to hear your voice.”

Beth sniffed. “It’s nice to hear yours too.”

——————————————

Rio clutched the “oh shit” bar tightly, doing his best to let Marcus focus.

“Stop it, Dad!” Marcus complained anyways. “You’re freaking me out.”

Rio winced. “Just keep your eye on the road, Marcus.”

“I am!”

It wasn’t their first drive with Marcus at the wheel, but it was the first time that they were venturing out of the quiet side streets that they normally practiced on.

He made an effort to relax his hold when his phone buzzed in his pocket.

It was Beth. _Can you two pick up some ice cream?_

He texted back an affirmative, then put his phone away. “Beth wants us to go to the grocery store,” he told Marcus. “You up to it?”

Marcus hesitated. “Can we park at the back?”

Laughing, Rio nodded. “Yeah, better give the other cars some space. Don’t want to ruin anyone’s paint job.”

“I’m not gonna hit anyone,” Marcus said. “But just in case…”

They pulled into the parking lot and Rio coached him through backing into a parking space.

It was pretty quiet for a weekend, but Rio wasn’t going to complain. They made a beeline for the freezers and after a short debate, Rio grabbed some chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. He was pulling his arm out of the freezer when Marcus mumbled something.

“What?” Rio asked once the hum of the freezer wasn’t quite so loud.

“I asked out Melanie,” Marcus repeated, only a little bit louder this time.

Rio tried to place the name. “From math class?”

Marcus nodded.

“And?”

“She said yes.” Marcus looked down at his shoes and Rio had to fight back a grin. He’d been shooting up like a weed in the past few years and he was almost as tall as Rio now.

“That’s good, pop,” Rio told him as they walked towards the check-out. Marcus didn’t say anything else until they were in the parking lot.

“Can I borrow the car?”

Rio’s initial instinct was to say absolutely the fuck not, but he didn’t say it. “Where are you gonna go?”

“I was thinking the movies.”

He calculated the drive from their house to the theatre.

“And dinner.”

Rio raised an eyebrow. “You like her, huh.”

“Yeah,” Marcus admitted.

He must, if he was planning on spending the money that he’d earned over the summer working at the golf course. He and Beth had decided, back when Kenny was old enough, that they didn’t want the kids working during the school year. Jane had, of course, pushed the rules and was lifeguarding at the rec centre, but it was just a couple times a week.

“There’s gonna be a curfew,” Rio warned Marcus. “I don’t want you out driving too late. And I’m too young to be a grandfather.”

Marcus cracked up. “Chill, Dad.” He paused. “But if you want to get me some condoms…”

Rio groaned. “I swear to God, Marcus, you better respect that girl or I’m not the one you’re gonna need to worry about.”

“Marcus has a date,” he told Beth later as they were getting ready for bed.

She looked over her shoulder at him. “Really?” She looked excited.

“Yup.” Rio shoved off the rest of his clothing and crossed the room to press up against her. “Melanie.”

“From math class, right?” Beth asked, leaning back into him. He hummed in response. “I knew it!”

“Knew what?”

“He gets a little -“ she searched for a word, “jittery when he talks about her. It’s sweet.”

Rio cast his mind back, trying to recall if he’d noticed anything like that.

Beth giggled, turning in his arms. “Men,” she said, reaching up to pat his cheek.

Rio scowled at her. “Oh yeah?” He bent down to hoist her up and carried her over to the bed. “You saying I don’t pick up on signals?”

He dropped her onto the bed, following her down.

“I never said that!” Beth replied, almost offended. “You’re very good at picking up on signals. Usually. Unless they’re coming from your son, because your mind trips up on the fact that he’s not a little boy anymore.”

Rio groaned. “Don’t remind me. I think he’s gonna be as tall as me by the summer.”

“Poor boy,” Beth sighed, scratching his head, “all the girls swooning over him because he’s tall and good looking. Takes after his parents.”

“You saying I’m handsome?” Rio kissed her neck.

Beth’s hands turned soothing. “I’m saying that Cassie’s really pretty.”

He laughed into her chest. “Oh, I’m gonna get you for that.”

—————————————

Jane was practically vibrating with excitement as she opened up the application system.

“What if I didn’t get in?” she said, seeming to stop all at once. “What if I -“

Beth kissed the top of her head. “Honey, just rip off the band-aid, okay?”

Rio sat at the other end of the kitchen table, waiting for their reaction to tell him whether or not Jane had gotten into her first choice school. He took a bite of his toast and chewed.

She’d been on edge since she submitted her application, but it had gotten worse when Marcus started hearing back from schools two weeks before, although he’d already decided on a cooking program.

Jane clicked something and then shut her eyes. “I can’t read it.”

Beth gasped. “You got in!”

Jane opened her eyes again and read whatever was on the screen. “Oh my god,” she sighed, then slumped in the chair.

“You did it!” Beth squeezed her shoulders and leaned down to give Jane another kiss. “Congratulations, sweetie.”

Rio got up and went to congratulate her too. “Congrats, peanut.” He ruffled her hair.

—————————————————

Beth looked at Jane’s dorm room, which was more of an apartment style. There were four bedrooms and two bathrooms all leading into a common area with a little kitchen.

“Hey,” Rio said, “at least you know she’s capable of feeding herself if she hates the food in the cafeteria.”

Beth made a face.

“I know you’ve been making her cook with you all summer,” Rio went on, “and she’s been writing all that shit down.”

“I’m not worried about Jane,” Beth protested. “She’ll be fine. I’m worried about everyone else.”

Laughing, Rio pressed his face into her hair.

“What if she has trouble making friends?”

“Jane?” Rio asked. He shook his head. “Jane will be okay. There’s a reason she’s already disappeared.”

“What if she makes too many friends?” Beth was starting to fret.

Rio tilted her head back so she was looking at him. “Baby,” he said as sternly as he could, “Jane will be ok.”

“What if she is?” Beth bit her lip. “What if she doesn’t need me anymore?”

He pulled her into a hug. “She’s always gonna need you, honey.”

“Yeah,” Jane agreed, bounding back into the room. “I’m gonna be calling you like all the time because I can’t remember what kind of laundry detergent you use and whether or not fabric softener is just a scam and how many cans of tomatoes do I have to buy to make lasagna.”

Beth laughed, although Rio saw her wipe her eyes. “And I’ll always pick up.”

“Unless it’s after 10 pm, in which case you’ll be asleep,” Jane teased her.

“Hey,” Rio shot back, “sometimes we stay up until 10:30.”

Jane snorted. “Sure you do.”

————————————————

Ruby, Stan, Annie, and Tasia came for dinner a few nights after they helped move Jane into her new place.

“How quiet is the house?” Tasia asked, giving Rio a hug.

“Spooky quiet,” he admitted. “I’m tempted to go play music in the kids’ rooms when I’m doing stuff around the house.”

She laughed, handing over the salad that she and Annie had brought. “Ben’s pretty quiet, but I didn’t realize how much noise he normally made until he wasn’t around making it anymore. I think it’s why Annie started snoring.”

“I don’t snore,” Annie snapped.

Tasia and Rio locked eyes and shook their heads in acknowledgement of their shared experience. No matter how much Beth and Annie insisted otherwise, they were a lot alike.

“Of course,” Tasia agreed, winking at Rio.

“Marcus settle into his place alright too?” Stan asked once he’d passed Ruby’s lasagna to Beth to put in the oven.

“Did orientation and everything already,” Rio said. “Sent me a picture of his chef’s kit and I had to call him and tell him to be careful of who he sends photos to of an array of knives.”

Stan laughed. “He gonna start doing all the holiday cooking now?”

“Nah,” Rio shook his head. “He already helps Beth out a lot, but no way is she letting go of that particular task.”

“Which task?” Beth asked.

“Thanksgiving and Christmas cooking,” Stan replied.

Beth snorted. “I’m happy to hand all of that over,” she insisted, holding up her hands.

“Liar,” Annie and Ruby said at the same time.

Rio smiled and turned his attention to Stan. “What about Harry? Junior year, he’s getting old.”

————————————————

“You call your mother yet?” Rio asked.

Jane sighed. “Rio, the care packages are getting a little ridiculous. What am I going to do with a personalized knitted blanket? It isn’t even cold yet!”

“You’re gonna put it on your bed and take a photo to send to your mother, then you’re gonna call her and thank her,” he said, unlocking the front door. Beth wasn’t home yet, but she must have done meal prep before leaving because the crockpot was on.

“No one else’s mom sends them this stuff!”

“You want me to let her send photo albums next?” Rio picked up the note on the counter, which was a list of instructions for dinner. “She wanted to include one, but I talked her out of it. I notice you didn’t complain about the lemon bars.”

“Yeah because those were delicious!” Jane said with a whine. “And I shared them with some friends.”

“Did you thank her for those?”

Jane was silent.

“That’s what I thought, Jane. Call your mother.”

She huffed. “Fine. I’ll call her after dinner if you guys are around.”

Rio shook his head. It was like pulling teeth sometimes. “Jane,” he warned.

“I know, I know. I am grateful,” she said. “I don’t remember her doing this stuff for Emma though!”

“Emma lived an hour’s drive away,” Rio said, taking a cookie from the jar on the counter. “You’re the one who wanted to go out of state. Not to mention, you’re her baby. You leaving hit her harder than the others.”

He heard Jane sniff.

“How’s training going?” he changed the subject. “It interfering with your schoolwork?”

“It’s good,” Jane replied, but there was something weird about her voice.

“Jane.”

“I went on a date!” she blurted.

Ah. That explained it. “And how’d that go?” Rio asked.

“It was good.”

Rio shook his head. “What’s their name?”

“His name is Evan,” Jane answered. “He’s a sophomore. Works in that coffee shop I was telling you about.”

Rio took a bite out of his cookie and made a humming noise.

“Anyways, he asked me out when I was there all the time during midterms. Oh, I passed all of those, by the way!”

“That’s good,” Rio said. “Knew you would, peanut.”

“He took me to dinner and we’re going out again.” Jane sounded excited and Rio smiled. “Wait, don’t tell Mom.” Before Rio could reply to that, she explained. “I’ll call her later, tell her about it, say thanks.”

“She’ll like that.” Beth loved it when the kids called and they were all good about it, but with the stress of midterms, Jane’s regular calls had become a bit more haphazard and Beth had been letting it happen.

“I don’t want her to think I’m being overbearing,” Beth had said earlier in the week. “She needs some space.”

“Love you,” Jane said.

“Love you too, peanut.”

————————————————

The Group Chat

Jane: Marcus, you’re a fucking suck-up

Marcus: :P

Emma: ??????

Jane: Mom sent us both knitted blankets and apparently St. Marcus over there sent Mom a picture of himself with it as soon as he got it. So then I got a call from Rio about it.

Marcus: hahahahahahaha

Kenny: You really do need to get better about keeping in touch. Mom’s probably a mess now that you two are gone too.

Jane: You kidding? You know what the two of them are up to.

Danny: NOT LISTENING

Jane: They’re having s-e-x

Danny: fuck u

Marcus: In public areas of the house. Next time you go home, you’re gonna look at the couch…

Jane: lol

Danny: I’m gonna murder both of you at Thanksgiving. Emma’ll help

Emma: About that…

Kenny: Oh fuck

Jane: ????

Emma: I’m not coming home for Thanksgiving

Marcus: :O

Danny: Oh shiiiiiiiit

Jane: Oh thank you, now someone else can be the focus of Mom’s attention

Emma: Nisi’s family invited me to join them! I wouldn’t have to spend all that time traveling and I really want to get to know them more.

Kenny: Better tell Mom, sooner the better

Danny: YOU LIVE AN HOUR AWAY WHAT DRIVING

Emma: I’m going to. I just need to figure out how

Jane: Want me to tell her? I’d be happy to do it

Emma: You tell her and I’ll cancel my plans so I can come home and help Danny kill you

——————————————————

“Emma’s not coming home for Thanksgiving.”

Rio froze mid-way through taking his shoes off. “Oh yeah?”

Beth sniffled, wiping under her eye. “Yeah.”

“You okay?” He finished taking off his shoes and joined her at the kitchen table. He reached out and drained her bourbon, then poured them another.

“I’m feeling maudlin.”

Rio picked up her hand and lifted it to his lips. “Empty nest, huh, Mama Bird?”

“They’re gonna start doing this!” Beth’s eyes got watery. “Not coming home for the holidays because they have new people to be with!”

“And some holidays, we’ll have extra people,” Rio said, brushing his lips over her knuckles. “Did you put any kind of dibs on Spring Break? Easter?”

Beth laughed. “No, but I should.”

Rio flipped her hand over so that it was palm up. “Want to turn her room into a workout room or something?”

“No!” She shoved at him lightly. “The house just seems quieter today.”

“What if,” Rio suggested, “we get a dog.”

“What?” Beth looked surprised at the suggestion. Like she hadn’t been on the Humane Society website every couple of days for the last month.

“A dog,” he said. “We’ve got the space. Might be nice to have someone making a mess again.”

“You make a mess,” she replied. At his look, she sighed. “And then you clean it up.”

He waited her out.

“A dog is a lot of responsibility.”

Chuckling, he kissed her cheek.”I’m not a child, Elizabeth. Need I remind you that I raised a bunch of them? I can handle a dog.”

She smiled. “Yeah, you did. Can we go now?”

Laughing, Rio kissed her. “We can go tomorrow, how about that? I think they tend to close at night.”

“Oh, right.” Beth nodded.

“But,” Rio cupped her jaw, “I can distract you if you want.”

“Oh?” Beth’s smile turned knowing. “How were you thinking you’d do that?”

“Depends on whether or not you’re feeling like the bed’s too far away,” Rio told her, dropping his hand down to her clavicle and then trailing it down until he reached the neck of her blouse. Turning his fingers, he undid the top button.

Then the next. And the next. Then he was sliding out of his seat to hoist Beth up onto the table even as he pressed their lips together.

Giggling, Beth grabbed onto his head and held him close.

“Bed’s too far,” she said when they parted, hands going to undo each other’s pants.

Rio nodded. “Thought you’d say that.”

———————

Jane: They replaced you with a dog hahahahahaha

Emma: SHUT UP

Jane: hahahahahahaha

Emma: If anything, it’s to replace you and Marcus - the two of you are worth one dog

Jane: Please, we would be worth like 7 based on the amount of laundry mishaps alone

Emma: You’ve got a point. She’s cute though, isn’t she?

Jane: I’m tempted to drive home RIGHT NOW so that I can squeal over her. Kidnap her. Bring her to school with me.

—————

Lady was anything but. Almost immediately, Rio gave in on everything if she whined, which didn’t help.

“Rio!” Beth hissed when she saw the two of them on the couch, the collie sprawled out with her head in Rio’s lap.

“Yeah?” He turned his head towards her, his eyes taking a second to follow. “We’re watching The Wire.”

“Is there a reason she’s on the couch?” Beth put her hands on her hips.

Rio looked down at Lady, then up at Beth. “She’s keeping me company. Who else is gonna watch TV with me?” His lip came up in a slight pout, which was undermined when Lady jumped up and bumped her nose into his cheek, making him laugh. Beth stared them down, eventually shaking her head and giving up.

Lady took her role as Rio’s companion seriously. She went for runs with him, watched TV with him, but when she wanted to just sit and be calm, she would always wander over to wherever Beth was.

“You know that you can’t have cookies,” Beth said to the collie when she padded into the kitchen one afternoon. “Wait a couple minutes and I’ll get you your treats though.”

Lady perked up, mouth falling open as she panted. When treats didn’t immediately appear, she laid down, staring mournfully at Beth, who was finishing up a batch of oatmeal cookies.

Pulling the last tray out of the oven, Beth turned it off and took off the oven mitts. “Okay, treats.”

Lady saw her going for the treat cupboard and popped back up, her nails clicking on the floor as she ran to Beth’s side.

Rio joined them in the kitchen, sidling towards the cookies.

“You can have one,” Beth told him, amused.

Grinning, he took one from the cooling racks and immediately bit into it. “Shit, that’s good,” he groaned.

“I tweaked the recipe a little bit,” she told him. “Added a bit more flour.”

“I give it five stars,” Rio said, taking another bite.

“You gave the old recipe five stars too,” Beth replied.

He shrugged. “That’s what happens when you improve on perfection, Elizabeth.”

Beth rolled her eyes, but blushed at the compliment.

Lady barked, reminding them that she was there and still waiting for her treats.

Laughing, Beth took out a couple of them and gave them to her one by one. When they were all gone, Lady went to Rio and rested her head against his leg, staring up at him.

“Nuh uh,” Rio said, scratching her ears, “I just saw you get those treats. No more for you.”

Lady whined.

“I guess we could go toss a frisbee around,” he suggested.

Beth smiled as she listened to him talk to the dog as he put on his shoes and grabbed a frisbee.

“Don’t tire yourselves out too much,” Beth said when he kissed her cheek on his way out.

“Whatever you say, mama.”

“And put on a hat!” she called after him.

——————

“Surprise!”

Marcus screamed, slamming the door in their faces. Beth listened to a number of bodies scrambling around inside the apartment and turned her head towards Rio.

“Should we give him a couple minutes to clean up or freak him out by sticking around?” she asked him.

He laughed. “Considering the hallway smells like weed, I’m gonna say we go to that coffee shop ‘round the corner.” He opened up the door, leaned his head in and called out, “Elizabeth and me’ll be down the road. Air out your apartment.”

He shut the door behind him, ignoring the pained yelp that Marcus let out.

They had just received their coffees when a red-faced Marcus came in, freshly showered. Beth snorted into her latte, not daring to meet Rio’s eyes.

“Hi Dad,” he said, wiping his hands on his pants. “Hi Beth.”

“Happy birthday, honey,” Beth said, standing up to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Ordered you an americano,” Rio said as he gave Marcus a hug. “Gonna tell us about who you were hanging out with?”

Marcus groaned, collapsing into a chair. “I’m gonna step into traffic.”

Rio gave him a look. “Really, Marcus?” Beth couldn’t tell if he was being disapproving about the situation as a whole, the weed, or the comment. “You do anything stupid?”

Marcus shook his head. “No, I swear!” He looked so much like Rio as he said it that Beth leaned into Rio for a beat. He didn’t visibly soften, but she felt him relax against her.

“Apprenticeship good?” Rio asked. Marcus nodded. “You keeping up?” Another nod. “You been sharing Elizabeth’s goodies with your little stoner crew?”

Beth almost started to laugh only to pause when Marcus’ eyes opened wider. He did! She gasped softly.

“They really love everything you make, Beth!” Marcus rushed to tell her. “Dani says your lemon bars made her see Jesus.”

“You sure she wasn’t just hallucinating?” Beth shot back, trying to stay stern.

Marcus shook his head like it was a serious accusation. “No hallucinogens. Scout’s honour.”

“Honey,” Beth reached over to pat his hand, “you were never a Boy Scout. That doesn’t work.” Rio turned his head to bury his laughter in her hair and she broke too, starting to giggle.

“Did you guys really have to surprise me?” Marcus griped. “I could have cleaned up.”

“But then we wouldn’t have had this bonding experience,” Rio said. “Besides, we’re staying in a hotel. Not like we’re trying to crash on your couch and cramp your style.”

“Dad,” Marcus groaned. “Come on.”

“Should I change our dinner reservation for four?” Beth asked.

Rio chuckled. “Based on the number of people I saw at his place, more like six.”

“He wouldn’t be dating all of them,” Beth protested. “Or -“ she looked back at Marcus.

“I’m not dating three people!” Marcus tried to explain.

Instead, it just made Beth and Rio focus on him. “So how many are you dating?” Rio asked slowly.

Marcus looked like he would rather be anywhere in the world. “No one.”

“Uh huh,” Rio said. “You remember the conversations that we had about safe sex, I hope.”

Looking up at the ceiling for deliverance, Marcus mumbled something that sounded like, “Unfortunately.”

“Because we can do that again,” Rio went on. Beth could see the undercurrent of glee in his eyes. “I’m always happy to talk.”

“Please,” Marcus said, “please kill me.”

Beth lost it, burying her face in Rio’s shoulder and laughing.

———————————————

“He’s moving halfway across the country!” Annie said, pacing back and forth.

Beth coughed. “Annie, he’s moving to Chicago. That’s not halfway across the country.”

“It might as well be!” Annie stopped pacing, her hands on her hips.

“I hope you didn’t say this to him,” Ruby said. “Or he might move to Seattle or something.”

Annie turned to Ruby, looking stricken. “Do you think he would?”

“No!” Ruby and Beth said it at the same time.

“He wouldn’t,” Ruby went on. “He got a job, Annie. One he’s gonna be good at, that’ll give him valuable experience.”

“What if he just keeps moving further and further away?” Annie asked. “What if this is because of me?”

Beth reached out and pulled Annie towards the couch, shoving her so that she was in the middle.

“Ben’s not moving to get away from you, Annie. Ben’s moving for something,” she told her sister. “Besides, you love complaining about deep dish pizza. Just think about all the opportunities you’re going to have to do that now.”

It took a second, but Annie started to laugh, wiping at her eyes. “It’s just so stupid. I don’t understand how anyone can call it pizza.”

Beth and Ruby wrapped their arms around her from opposite sides and hugged her.

“I don’t know,” Ruby said, squeezing her, “I don’t know.”

———————————————

Rio petted Lady, who beamed up at him despite the fact that she was currently dressed as a sunflower. “How we doing, girl?” He rubbed her side. She woofed and licked his face. He stepped away and picked up his phone, the camera already open so he could take the picture quickly before Lady got fed up and started trying to climb his leg.

He took a couple, then gave her a treat for being good.

When Annie had said that he should make a calendar of Lady, she may have been joking, but Rio had promptly decided to do it. Everyone was going to get copies for Christmas.

Rio sent one of the photos he wasn’t going to use to the kids. The responses started to pour in almost immediately. Jane sent a string of heart eye emojis, alternating with crying ones. _I HATE YOU_ , read Emma’s.

Lady seemed content to keep wearing the costume, so long as Rio was petting her, so he let her sit on the couch with him, head in his lap as he worked on a sketch.

He knew that Beth was home when Lady’s head came up. “She home?” 

Lady didn’t answer, but she jumped off the couch to race for the door, which was its own kind of answer.

“Oh my god!” Beth cried out once she came in. “Who is this little sunflower?”

Lady was barking and Rio looked over the back of the couch to see that she was wagging her tail and butting Beth’s leg with her head, knocking the flower askew.

“You are the cutest sunflower that I have ever seen,” Beth went on. “Oh hello, sweetheart.”

“Hello to you too,” Rio said.

Beth glanced up at him. “I was talking to Lady,” she told him.

“Damn, Elizabeth,” he laughed, “that’s cold.”

“Hi,” she said, straightening up and joining him on the couch. “Why is the dog dressed in a costume?”

“It’s Halloween,” Rio said.

“It’s March,” Beth replied.

He grinned. “That’s fair.”

“You’re really not gonna tell me?”

Rio shook his head.

“Alright,” Beth said, “keep your secrets.”

She settled her hand over his cock and squeezed him lightly through his jeans. He rocked into her touch. “How about,” Beth suggested, “you and me go upstairs and break in that new set of sheets?”

Rio grinned, tilting her head back and biting her chin lightly. “You read my mind.”

He chased her up the stairs and into the bedroom, staying just behind her and occasionally reaching out to grab her ass.

“Stop pinching!” Beth said over her shoulder.

Rio snorted. “I’m not pinching,” he said, “I’m appreciating.”

“Yeah, well if I wake up with bruises, it’s your fault,” Beth started to unbutton her shirt as Rio shut the door behind them

Rio decided to help, starting at the bottom so they could meet in the middle. “Baby, you bruise easier than a peach. You don’t even notice most of them.”

It was true. She was so pale, she bruised if she moved wrong.

Pushing the sides of her shirt apart to bare her chest, Rio smiled at the sight of her bra.

“Well, well, well,” he drawled, his thumbs brushing over her nipples through the sheer fabric.

“It went with my shirt,” she said, unbuttoning her jeans.

Rio snorted. “Uh huh.” She was wearing a heavy cotton floral. There was absolutely no reason she needed to be matching her bra. “If you say so.” He yanked his shirt over his head and then, hoisting Beth onto the bed, pushed her back so he could bite her breast.

Shrieking, she wrapped her arms around her shoulders, stopping her from falling all the way on her back. Her hands occupied with holding her up, Rio got to work tugging her jeans off.

He glanced down. “You need to match those to your jeans?” he teased, looking at the matching panties.

“Oh hush,” Beth said.

Prying her fingers off him, he lowered her more slowly onto the bed before yanking her panties off.

“And it’s not even my birthday.” Rio still liked it when Beth bought lingerie as a present for him, although it wasn’t restricted to just holidays anymore. “When’d you go shopping?”

“None of your business,” Beth scolded as he lifted her one leg onto his shoulder.

“That ain’t fair, Elizabeth,” Rio said.

She pursed her lips. Rio kissed the inside of her knee as he rubbed her calf.

“Fine! It was last week.”

He grinned. “That wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

Beth raised her eyebrow and reached out to cup his cock. “Unlike this?”

Laughing, he pulled away so he could take the rest of his clothing off. He started to get back on the bed, but Beth sat up, shook her head.

“Wanna suck you off,” she said, sliding to the edge of the bed and putting her hands on his now bare hips.

Rio ran his pinky finger down the side of her face, catching the strands of hair that had fallen from her ponytail and pushing them back.

“I’m all yours.”

Even though she knew that well by this point, she still looked pleased by his words as she pulled him a little closer so that she could take the head of his cock into her mouth.

It was a familiar sensation, Beth sucking and licking his cock, but by no means an old one. He didn’t think it would ever get old, watching her like this.

She took him a little deeper and he groaned. She spread out her fingers so that the tips of them were on his ass and curled them so that there was a slight bite from her nails.

“Like that,” Rio said, shuddering.

Beth pulled back with a moan, tilting her head slightly so that she could look up at him through her lashes.

“I fucking love you,” he told her.

She laughed softly, letting his cock fall from her lips. “You’re not just saying that because I’m going down on you?” she teased.

Rio scowled, even though he knew it was a joke. “I fucking love you all the time,” he replied.

Beth’s expression softened. “I know,” she said. “I fucking love you too.” She turned her head to the side and kissed his ring finger. “Always.”

Rio nodded.

“Now, I’m gonna go back to what I was doing,” she informed him, “and you’re gonna come in my mouth.”

“And then it’s my turn,” Rio warned, “so play nice.”

She gave him a saucy little grin. “I’m pretty sure you don’t want me to play nice, Rio.”

“Yeah?”

She bit her lip, then took him back into her mouth, licking his slit as she squeezed his ass. Rio let his head fall back for a second, but forced himself to lift it again, wanting to watch.

The combination of the sight and the sensations was perfect. The sounds weren’t bad either. All of it built together until he had to tap Beth’s shoulders, just in case she’d changed her mind.

“I’m gonna come,” he warned.

She nodded as much as she could and kept going.

The groan that he let out as he started to come in her mouth was loud. It wasn’t like they had to keep quiet these days and it flustered Beth sometimes when he made noise, turning her cheeks pink and sending her squirming. This time was no different as he watched her press her thighs together as she swallowed the last bit of cum.

She pulled off with an obscene noise and met his eyes as she licked her reddened lips.

“Oh, it’s on,” Rio said, pushing her onto her back and then further onto the bed until he could join her. He was tempted to just face-plant - for lack of a better word - into her cunt and get her off hard and fast, but instead, he pushed her legs apart and started with her ankle. He kissed it, then a little higher.

“Rio,” Beth whined, “don’t tease.”

“‘m not,” he told her. “You’re gonna get what you want, don’t worry. We’re just gonna go slow. Take the scenic route. Maybe a detour or two.”

She groaned, but didn’t protest.

Afterwards, as she panted up at the ceiling, arm over her face, Rio coming up from between her thighs to lay next to her, she whimpered.

“I can’t move,” she said after her breathing slowed.

Rio grinned. “So you’re saying that I’ve still got it?”

“If you had more of it, I’d be dead,” she replied, lifting her arm away and letting her head fall to the side. “Seriously, there’s no way I’m moving.”

“Well,” he said, walking his fingers up and down her arm, “you’re in luck, because I’ve had a little more time to recover and I could be convinced to go downstairs and make us something.”

She hummed, eyes slipping shut. “Yeah? What would you make?”

Rio thought about it. “French toast. We can have breakfast in bed for dinner.” They didn’t normally have time for that kind of thing in the actual morning, unless they had the day off, but it sounded nice.

“With strawberries?” Beth asked.

He leaned over to kiss her. “Anything you want.”

————————————

“Wanna talk about it?”

Jane didn’t look up. “Talk about what?”

Rio reached out to push her hair out of her face. “Whatever it is made you want to come home this weekend. Not that we’re not happy to have you,” he added. “But it’s unusual.”

Jane shrugged.

“Hey,” Rio let go of her hair, “you know we love you, right?”

She nodded. “I know. I came here, didn’t I?”

Rio smiled at the slight bite in her voice. “Yeah, you did.” He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “I’m gonna get started on dinner if you want to help.”

He was washing peppers when Jane came into the kitchen.

“Evan said he thought we should both date other people,” she said after washing her hands. “Not break up, just date other people too. And by that, he meant he should be allowed to sleep with Mindy from his calc class.”

Rio didn’t say anything, letting her tell him at her own pace.

“I said that I wasn’t interested in having that kind of relationship, so it was just me or no me. He said he needed to think about it,” Jane said, starting to peel an onion. “So I told him that he could fuck off because I didn’t need to think about it.”

Rio put down his knife and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“God, I’m so pissed but at the same time -“

Rio pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back. “Yeah,” he agreed.

“Just wanted to be around you and mom for a bit,” she admitted.

“Works for us,” Rio said. “Your mom is happy to be cooking for more people again.”

Jane giggled into his chest. “She is, isn’t she?”

The click of claws warned them of Lady’s arrival in the kitchen and when the dog whined, Jane let go of him to turn her attention to Lady.

“Hello gorgeous,” she told her. “Wanna go for a jog after dinner?”

“That’s when we usually go,” Rio said.

Jane started chopping the onion, sniffling loudly. “Mind if I tag along?”

“We’d be happy to have you.”

Before she left to go back to school on Sunday afternoon, Jane came to visit him in the studio above the garage.

“Remember how we talked about that thing over the summer?” she asked.

Rio put down his pencil. “We talked about several things over the summer,” he said, not entirely sure which one she might be referring to.

“A tattoo. You giving me one.”

“Ah.” Rio leaned back in his chair. “I gotta tell you that getting your first tattoo in the middle of a break-up might not be what you want a few years down the line?”

She shook her head. “Not right now. But I was thinking maybe in the fall. Over Thanksgiving.”

“We could do that.”

“We’ve been talking about it,” she said, taking a seat on the couch and kicking off her shoes so she could curl her legs up, “me and Marcus, Kenny, Danny, Emma, all of us. We were thinking that we would each get you to do a flower. Like you have for mom.”

Getting up from his desk, Rio walked to the couch and took a seat next to Jane, pulling her in to rest against his side.

“We could definitely do that,” he agreed, rubbing her arm. She curled into his side and started to cry.

———————————————————

Rio looked at Beth. “Are you serious?”

She nodded.

Crossing his arms over his chest and slouching down a little, he kept looking at her.

“What?”

“So when I get them, it’s silence, but the kids start getting ‘em and you wanna jump on the train too?” His lips twitched.

Beth raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying that you don’t want to?”

“No! I’m not saying that,” he pushed himself up upright quickly.

“Because I know that there’s plenty of other people who could -“

“Nope,” Rio cut her off. “I’m doing it. What do you want?”

Beth bit her lip as she watched him pull out his sketchbook and his little pen case. “You’ve already designed it,” she told him.

He stopped, halfway through taking his pens out. “What?”

Smiling, Beth pulled out her phone and sent him the photo.

His phone dinged and he picked it up, opened her message. His eyes widened slightly before the grin took over his face.

———————————————————

As Rio tattooed a peony onto Danny’s arm, Kenny sat nearby for moral support. It wasn’t Danny’s first tattoo, but it was going to be the most detailed and the largest.

“So how’s Sam?” Danny asked, clearly wanting something to distract him.

“She’s good,” Kenny replied, scrolling through his phone. “How’s moving in with Jamie going?”

Danny groaned. “Pretty sure she has more throw pillows than Mom and we’re in a one bedroom.”

Kenny laughed. “You say that like you didn’t buy her a set of pillowcases for them for her birthday.”

Smiling as the two of them ribbed each other, Rio kept inking in the petals of the flower. Emma had been the first of the kids to come get him to do one, an anemone on her shoulder. It had been her first tattoo, but she’d lain there without a problem, nearly drifting to sleep, much to his amusement.

Kenny had been next with a dahlia and Jane had already said that she wanted a chrysanthemum. Marcus was opting for a cluster of wildflowers.

“What about you and Mom?”

“Huh?” Rio lifted his head.

Kenny laughed and shook his head.

“How’d you know that you wanted to marry Mom?” Danny asked.

Rio blinked. He’d missed something.

“You were in the zone, weren’t you?” Kenny pushed his chair closer. Rio shrugged. “Danny asked when you know that it’s the right person, the one you wanna be with for the rest of your life.”

“I assume it’s different for different people,” Rio answered, wiping away ink and blood. They were in the last little bit, probably wouldn’t take more than another ten minutes. “When I asked my mom how she knew she loved my dad and wanted to spend her life with him, she would just get this dreamy look in her eyes and say something like, “I don’t know. I just did.” It wasn’t super helpful.”

He paused for a moment. “Me and Cassie were in a good place when we had Marcus, but we weren’t like that. Whether your mom felt like that when she married your dad, you’d have to ask her.” She hadn’t and had said as much to Rio before, but that wasn’t his story to tell the kids.

“But with your mom and me?” Rio grinned at the memory of Beth coming into the shop with Annie. “It was just like -“

Danny and Kenny were both looking at him, waiting.

“One day, I realized that she was what mattered to me. If she wasn’t around, I was still reaching for her, wanting her to be. I knew that without her, my life would be duller, but hers would be too, without me.” Rio lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “Fuck, I don’t know.” He stopped himself, realizing what he’d been about to say. _I just did._

“Now stop twitching,” Rio said, setting his tattoo gun back on Danny’s skin. “Your mom’s making stew tonight and you know she’ll be pissed if we’re late.”

They weren’t late, not even after taking a detour to pick up some flowers.

“You two are gross,” Danny sighed when Rio came back to the car and passed the bouquet for him to hold. Kenny cracked up from the passenger’s seat.

“Sure,” Rio said, shutting the door and climbing into the driver’s side. “Keep telling yourself that.”

Beth was stirring something on the stove when they came in through the kitchen.

“Dinner’s in half an hour,” she said without looking up as the boys headed upstairs to their rooms after calling out “hello”s.

“That all I get?” Rio teased, walking over to her until he was standing behind her. The sight of the black lines peeking out from the top of the low back of her sweater made him grin. Transferring the flowers to one hand, he hooked his finger in the sweater and tugged it down a little. “She’s healing up nice,” he said, running his fingers over the small gorgon’s head that he’d done between her shoulder blades.

It wasn’t huge, not like the one that he’d drawn on her back with markers once, and she had decided to stick with just the lines, but he couldn’t deny the little thrill he felt every time that he saw the mark that she’d had him give her.

“I would hope so,” Beth replied, finally looking over her shoulder at him, “considering you were the one helping me take care of it.” Her eyes went to the flowers. “Those for me?”

Rio nodded as he leaned down to kiss her.

She laughed softly when he straightened back up and peered over her shoulder to look at what was in the pot. “Is there a special occasion I’ve forgotten about?” she asked, putting the lid back on the stew.

“Nah,” he said, letting her take the flowers so that she could put them in a vase. “Just ‘cause.”

Beth unwrapped the bouquet with a smile on her face.

———————————————————

“I’m proposing to Jamie,” Danny said as soon as they finished eating.

“I knew it!” Beth crowed. “Sorry, honey, congratulations.”

Danny looked at her, then at Rio.

“She guessed,” Rio drawled. Danny looked confused. “You don’t exactly just have dinner with us often. Not by yourself, anyway.”

Danny’s expression turned a little sheepish. He’d actually gotten much better after he started dating Jamie, whose parents lived on the West coast.

“Wait, you knew?” Beth turned to Rio, who held his hands up in surrender. “How long?”

“He just asked some questions about how you know when you wanna settle down with someone when I was doing his piece,” he told her. “Asked when I knew it was gonna be you.”

Beth softened and she reached out to take his hand before turning her attention back to Danny, running her fingers back and forth across his wedding ring.

“Did you pick a ring?” Beth asked. “How are you going to ask her?”

Rio cleared the plates as she and Danny talked. No, he hadn’t picked a ring, Jamie had said that she would want to be involved in the process. Yes, he’d figured out how he was going to ask her and when. No, he wasn’t going to tell them.

“I don’t want to jinx it,” he said.

Beth hugged Danny a little tighter than usual when he was getting ready to leave. “She’s gonna say yes,” Beth told him as he hugged her back. She wiped at her eyes after letting him go. “And then you’re gonna be the first one to get married.”

“Thanks, Mom,” he replied. “Talk to you later?”

She went to the kitchen where Rio was clearing up and wrapped herself around him, hugging his waist.

“Hey mama,” he said, still washing the salad bowl. “You good?”

“I’m good.”

“They’re growing up, huh?”

Beth hummed. “They’ve been doing that for a while.”

Rio chuckled, putting the bowl on the drying rack and turning to wrap his arms around Beth. “Yeah, I guess they have.”

————————————-

The Group Chat

Jane: Finally one of you losers is getting married!

Emma: I think by that definition you’re a loser too

Marcus: no, we’re the babies

Jane: Exactly

Danny: Thanks?

Jane: You should be thankful. I’m already writing my best man speech.

Danny: You’re not my best man.

Jane: I’m still giving a speech. I even made a slide show!

Kenny: You might wanna elope

Danny: You kidding? Break not only mom’s heart but Jamie’s parents too?

Kenny: Fair point

Marcus: Lady can be the ring bearer since you don’t know any cute kids

Danny: I know people with kids

Marcus: CUTE kids

Jane: he said CUTE, Danny

Jane: lol one brain

Emma: You sure you haven’t been hitting your head during soccer practice?

Jane: What would you do if I said yes? Brain trauma is real, Emma!

Marcus: lol

————————————

Beth was going to be glad once the wedding was over. It had been a lovely ceremony and the reception was going well, but spending time with Dean and his new wife, Ramona, was wearing on her. His third wife, actually. He’d married a woman named Jennifer before Jane got to high school and then divorced Jennifer before Jane graduated high school.

Not that Ramona was awful or anything. She was actually quite lovely and had been happy to lend a hand with the party favours the day before, chatting with Beth as they tied a few hundred ribbons.

It was Dean that was the issue. Danny had decided that he wanted his brothers with him at the altar and Dean had made a comment about him only having one brother. None of the boys had taken it well.

“Relax,” Rio said, wrapping his arm around the back of her chair.

She looked over at him and shook her head. “Don’t tell me to relax.”

He smiled as he leaned over. “Jane and Marcus are about to do their speech. If you want to be drunk for that, you should pick up the pace.”

Beth hid her laughter by biting her lip. The two of them had declared themselves the representatives of the family. Kenny and Emma weren’t big on public speaking and had happily ceded that task.

“You’re forgetting,” she said, “I’ve actually read their speech and it’s quite lovely.”

She’d insisted on reading it beforehand, not interested in having to soothe any ruffled feathers at the reception.

He chuckled. “I find that hard to believe with those two,” he admitted before straightening up and asking Jamie’s mom about their plans for the next day. Beth was delighted to learn that the other woman had recently begun to crochet, so they made plans to meet up so that Beth could take her to some local yarn shops.

At one point, her gaze fell on Annie, who was entertaining Jamie’s dad while staunchly ignoring Dean, and Ruby, who was seated with Stan, the two of them talking to Dean’s mother. When Danny had shown her the seating plan to check that everything was okay, she’d been touched that he had included all of them as family. Sara, Harry, and Ben were seated at a table with Jamie’s siblings and the rest of the Boland kids.

She was pretty sure that Ruby was going to have to pry Sara away from Jamie’s older brother at the end of the night.

Soon enough, Jane and Marcus took their positions up front. Beth had been surprised when Jane decided to wear a dress, even going as far as to go to Emma’s for the weekend so that they could shop together.

“So we don’t clash,” Jane had told her. “And so that Emma picks out something cute. Don’t tell her I said that!”

“Hello everyone,” Marcus spoke first. “I’m Marcus.”

“And I’m Jane,” Jane shoved him aside to say. “We have the dubious honour of giving Danny over into Jamie’s family and the absolute privilege of welcoming Jamie into ours.”

Beth leaned against Rio’s side, smiling at the laughter. She never would have once imagined that Jane would be okay giving a speech in front of people, let alone volunteering for one. But her youngest had grown up to be confident in a way that Beth envied sometimes. It was the confidence born of always knowing that the people you loved were there for you when you needed them.

“When Danny first told us that he had asked out a girl in his calc class,” Marcus said, “we all expressed surprise. Not that she would go out with him, Danny is, of course, the second most handsome man in the family, but because Danny’s always been a bit quiet.”

“Normally,” Jane took over, “as the youngest, it has been my job to make sure that Danny participates. I’ve pushed him into swimming pools and tricked him into going to parties that Mom wouldn’t approve of, dragged him into family game night. But here he was, telling us that he’d asked a girl out and he hadn’t even mentioned it to us. We hadn’t talked him into it, hadn’t been his hype man in the lead up. Nope. He was going out with a girl named Jamie and did we think that he should insist on paying if Jamie tried to pay for half.”

“Then we met Jamie and she told us that when Danny asked her out, he’d seemed so confident and sure of himself.” Marcus made a shocked expression. “And apparently she’d heard all about us, but hadn’t gone running. So we knew that she had to be brave, if a little adventurous. We got to know her over these past few years and we’ve come to love her like she’s another sister.”

Jane nudged Marcus aside with a roll of her eyes. “Danny’s the peacemaker of the family. A lot of people think it’s Emma, but it’s Danny. When the rest of us are escalating tensions at Christmas Eve dinner, Danny’s usually spent a lot of time hovering at the edges and making sure that no one does anything that they’ll regret, but then Jamie came to Christmas and she started dragging him into conversations. We found out that he’d gone skydiving. They’d been going to dance class together, not because Jamie wanted to go, but because Danny did.”

Jane paused for a second, glancing over at Danny and Jamie. “As you might be able to tell, Marcus and I can be pretty loud and Danny’s always been along for the ride. It meant a lot to us that someone else loved Danny as much as we did, but that she also pushed him to be a little more active in going after the things that he wants. Even if it means that he’s not willing to be our wheelman anymore.”

“Back when my dad met Beth, I asked him how you knew that you loved somebody. I don’t think he knew how to answer that in a way that a six year old would really understand, but he told me that you figure it out, that it’s all kinds of things adding up together until you just know. With Jamie and Danny, the explanation seems particularly appropriate,” Marcus teased, “but it’s a different kind of mathematics that makes the two of them work.”

The two of them lifted their champagne flutes, prompting everyone around the room to do the same.

“To Jamie and Danny,” Jane said.

“And to their happiness,” Marcus finished.

After everyone drank, Beth turned to Rio. “Maybe we didn’t do too bad with them.”

He chuckled. “You kidding? We fucking nailed it with all of them.”

————————————

“I got into the EMT program,” Jane blurted out midway through family dinner. Everyone stopped eating and looked at her.

“You applied to an EMT program?” Emma asked.

Jane nodded, high-fiving Marcus across the table. “I didn’t mention it to everyone just in case -“

In case I didn’t get in, Beth knew she meant. Jane had spoken to her and Rio about it, but she’d asked that they not share with everyone.

Emma crossed her arms. “Medicine is my thing,” she said.

“Medicine isn’t a thing that you get to call dibs on,” Kenny reminded Emma calmly. “Besides, it’s different and you know it. Congratulations, Jane.”

For a second, it looked like Emma might say something else, but her girlfriend Tara reached over to her and Emma relaxed. That broke the tension and everyone else congratulated Jane.

Beth smiled at her kids, plus assorted girlfriends and wives. Kenny and his girlfriend had broken up back in October and he was still smarting from that a little, but Jane and Marcus had both been remaining fairly steadfastly single when it came to family holidays.

She caught Danny and Jamie exchanging glances and paused. What was that about? But she wasn’t the only one to notice.

“What are those looks for?” Jane demanded.

Jamie bit her lip. “This is your moment,” she said to Jane.

“No, it isn’t. Spill,” Jane said.

Danny groaned, burying his head in one of his hands while the other took Jamie’s.

Beth reached out to grab Rio’s hand. They’d made eye contact earlier when Jamie had asked for soda instead of wine, but neither of them had any intention of bringing it up before Danny and Jamie were ready.

“We’re expecting,” Jamie announced.

Dinner erupted into a state of semi-chaos after that, continuing on into dessert.

“I’m really proud of you, honey,” Beth told Jane before she left much later.

“I know, mom,” Jane replied, giving Beth a tight hug. “You never let me doubt that.”

Beth teared up, hugging her youngest a little tighter. “You’re all getting big on me.”

Jane laughed. “Mom, I’ve been taller than you for years.” She let Beth hug her for a moment longer and then pulled away. “I’ll talk to you later this week.”

Only Emma and Tara were spending the night, their home a little too far away to drive back to. Returning to the kitchen, she found the two of them entertaining Rio with a story about their neighbour.

“I’m serious, Rio,” Tara said, holding her hands up, “like this small. I didn’t even realize it was a dog!”

Emma was giggling into her shoulder and Beth smiled. She was always happy to see her kids happy, settling into their lives, even if she missed them.

Rio looked up at her and nodded his head to the chair next to his. When Beth sank into it, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close, kissing the top of her head.

————————————

“No fair!” Annie complained.

“What’s no fair?” Beth asked.

“Ruby and I have the oldest kids, we should be grandmas first.”

Ruby took a sip of her coffee. “I’m not involved in this argument.”

“And I’m the oldest,” Beth pointed out, “so clearly that’s not how it works. Besides, didn’t Ben say that he doesn’t want kids?”

Annie grumbled something under her breath.

“Annie!” Beth hissed, jabbing her sister in the arm. “Don’t you dare try to pressure him into having kids!”

“I’m not going to!” Annie said. “I’m not. But I keep seeing people with babies and they’re so cute. Then I think about Ben at that age and how nice it was to hold him.” She sighed.

“Sounds like you want a kid,” Ruby said with a look.

Annie made a face. “Are you kidding? Midnight feedings. Vomiting. Pooping. Trying to eat everything. Refusing to eat anything. No fucking way. I want a grandkid! Then I get to see the baby and hold the baby and take the baby on little outings, but then I get to hand the baby back to its parents.”

Beth and Ruby both laughed.

“I hope you didn’t tell Ben that,” Ruby shook her head, “or I can tell you why he’s not interested.”

“Oh hush,” Annie muttered. “Think Danny will let me be honorary Grams or something?”

Beth patted her shoulder. “I'm sure he will. Especially once the sleep deprivation hits.”

Annie shuddered.

————————————

Beth paced back and forth until Rio pulled her in to stand between his legs. “It’s gonna be fine, mami.”

“You should be calling me grandma now,” she groaned, turning into him and collapsing against his chest.

Rio just laughed, sweeping his hand up and down her back. “That makes me grandpa,” he reminded her.

She just groaned. “Yeah, but you’re cool grandpa. You tattoo and still have all these muscles,” she said, patting his arms.

“You saying it’s time to let myself go?” Rio teased. “Thought you liked my muscles.”

“Oh believe me, I do,” Beth replied. “But I'm a stereotypical grandma! I like florals and I knit and I -“

Rio cut her off with a kiss. “Baby, if that’s how you’re gauging this,” he said, thumb stroking her chin, “you been a grandma since the day you were born. Now calm down. Danny already said everything’s fine.”

Beth sniffed, wiping under her eyes.

“He’ll call when it’s ok for us to go to the hospital,” he went on. “Gotta give him and Jamie the space that they asked for.”

She was aware that she was pouting, but it didn’t make her stop. “I just want to meet my grandkid!” Danny and his wife had kept quiet about whether they were having a girl or boy and his text had just said, _Jamie and baby good. Will call soon._

Rio kissed her again, this time deeper, pulling her close.

“Oh,” Beth said as he started to unbutton her shirt.

“Relax,” he told her again.

She was plenty relaxed by the time Danny called a little while later.

“Want to meet your grandson?” he asked the second that Beth answered.

“Yes!” Beth shouted, running to the door to put her shoes on.

“Good,” Danny said, “because I want to introduce you and Rio to him.”

Beth and Rio were the first to arrive at the hospital, met by a frazzled looking Danny. “Oh, honey,” Beth said, hugging him tightly.

Danny wrapped his arms around her too. “Hi Mom.” Beth felt Rio’s hand on her back, sniffling into Danny’s shirt. She heard the two of them greeting each other quietly, Rio congratulating Danny.

Danny kept a hand on Beth’s shoulder as they went to the maternity ward, insisting that she could wait a few more minutes before finding out what they’d named him.

Jamie was sitting in a bed, cooing at the little bundle in her arms. “Hi Beth,” Jamie greeted her first. “Want to meet Jack?”

“Oh, he’s perfect.” Beth took a seat on the side of the bed and joined Jamie in gushing over the baby. Rio came up behind her to meet Jack as well, giving Jamie a kiss on the head too.

“Your parents manage to get an earlier flight?” Rio asked, giving Beth a squeeze. Jamie’s parents, in Cambodia for her cousin’s wedding, had been worried about not being able to move to an earlier flight.

“Yeah,” Jamie answered, “they should be taking off any minute now if there weren’t delays.”

“They have trouble finding somewhere to stay?”

Jamie shrugged. “I have no idea.” She laughed.

“I booked them a hotel,” Danny said. “Bout half an hour ago. It’s a couple blocks from our place.”

“Although I’m sure my mom will wind up insisting on staying with us,” Jamie sighed, shaking her head before bending over to coo at Jack. “Even though we don’t have the space, do we?”

Danny tugged on a strand of her hair. “You still high?”

“Oh probably,” Jamie said, looking back up at them. “They gave me alllll the good stuff.”

——————————————

Marcus was carrying Jack around the house, loudly telling him about every item. “And that’s the couch where I beat up your dad,” he told a wide-eyed Jack, “and where your abuela found your parents making out one time and dropped her groceries on the ground. Your daddy had to clean up a dozen eggs. It was hilarious.”

Rio tried to cover up his laughter as Danny groaned, burying his face in his hands.

“Don’t forget about the Christmas incident,” Emma called out from the kitchen where she, Tara, and Jamie were putting cookies onto nice plates. Jane had been banned from helping after just piling them all together one year. “Oh wait, that was you.”

“Oh fu -“ Marcus caught himself, “fudge off.”

With a snort, Rio stepped in and took his grandson out of his son’s hands. “Ignore your Uncle Marcus,” Rio told the baby, who giggled. “I dropped him on his head a couple of times.”

“Hey!” Marcus protested.

Their conversation got derailed when Jane burst in through the side door. “Mom!”

“Why are you shouting?” Beth said from a few feet away. “I’m right here. Was the store closed?”

“Oh,” Jane dug into her pockets, “no, I got the cinnamon.” She tossed a bag onto the counter. “But you’ll never guess who I ran into at the checkout. Mykaela Tillson! And guess what!”

“What, Jane?”

“Her boyfriend hit on me before she got back from getting cottage cheese or whatever!” Jane whipped off her coat and kind of hung it up, although it looked like it was seconds from falling to the ground.

Rio, seeing Lady moving towards it with a gleam in her eye, hung it up properly. “And what did you do?” he asked.

“When she got there, I asked if her cousin had a partner I should be worried about if I took him up on his offer of getting to know him better,” Jane crowed, snatching up a cookie from the “reject” pile of misshapen and broken ones. “I didn’t know a human could turn that shade of magenta.”

Tara, an only child who was delighted by Jane’s antics, giggled, ignoring Emma’s hip bumping against hers. Jack started to squirm a little, drawing Rio’s attention.

“Hey,” he said softly. “You getting tired of me?”

Jack yawned.

“Ouch. You wanna see your dad?” Jack just shut his eyes. “Then you’re stuck with me,” Rio told him. It was nice, having a baby around again. Even nicer, he got to hand it back over to someone else after a while. He understood why his mom enjoyed being a grandparent so much.

He went to the chair next to hers and stretched out his legs. “No wonder you love being a grandparent,” he told her. “Get to give ‘em back.”

She laughed. “You were lucky that Marcus was such a good baby. Jack is too.”

Rio bounced Jack a little bit. “That right? You being good?” he asked.

Jack clutched at Rio’s shirt and tugged it into his mouth. Sighing, Rio debated whether or not he should try to stop him, but it was already too late.

“You letting the baby drool all over your shirt?” Beth asked as she came over to him. She ran her hand over Jack’s head and cooed down at him, making him gurgle.

“He wants to drool on my shirt, he can,” Rio said, tilting his head so that she could lean down and kiss him. “I’m not complaining.”

———————————————————

It had been ages since there was a kid in the house on Christmas morning, although Jack was so little that he didn’t really get what was going on yet. Still, Beth wanted to make his first Christmas special.

She had done the prep for cinnamon rolls the night before, but she took them out of the fridge to come to room temperature as she preheated the oven and started to mix waffle batter.

“You’re worse than the kids ever were,” Rio said when he joined her in the kitchen barely five minutes later.

Beth smiled at the sight of him in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, still refusing to wear pajamas. “Hey, I didn’t wake you up asking if we could open presents,” she replied, tilting her face up for a kiss.

“Nah, you just get out of bed at 6:30 on Christmas morning, leaving me all cold and alone,” he teased. Beth put down the whisk and turned around so that she could wrap her arms around his waist. “How about,” he said, “you mix that, I’ll make coffee, leave the rest to do when everybody wakes up, and we just go sit on the couch for a while?”

“That sounds nice,” Beth admitted.

“Good,” Rio said, kissing her forehead. “It’s gonna be the last peace and quiet we get for a while.”

They both liked the hustle and bustle of having everyone around, filling up the house, but Beth would never stop loving these moments, when it was just the two of them together, moving around each other without needing to say a word. Rio would brush against her every chance that he got and she’d tease him by blocking access to the cutlery drawer as he hunted for a spoon so he could prepare her coffee.

Then they would go sit in the living room for a while, wrapped in the blanket that she’d made Rio last Christmas because he kept complaining about being cold. The house would slowly wake up, kids coming down and making their own cups of coffee.

In a few hours, Annie and Tasia would show up with Ben. Ruby, Stan, and Harry were at Sara’s new place, but they had a FaceTime date set around lunchtime.

Beth’s day was going to be filled with the people that she loved, who loved her, but as Rio’s hand touched her hip gently in order to nudge her out of the way of the drawer, she knew that for now, just the one was more than enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, as always, to neveroffanon and medievalraven for beta-ing. Title is from "Grow Old With You", which Adam Sandler sings in The Wedding Singer. If there's anything that I should warn for, please let me know.
> 
> And thank you to everyone who has commented and left kudos, writing this series has been a lot of fun and I'm going to miss it!


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